Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
This was just the beginning of her conquest of the PsyNet and her attendant subjugation of its populace. “Step by step,” she murmured as endless power rippled through her web, her Scarabs small infernos of energy. “Piece by piece. It will all fall. They will all fall.”
Chapter 23
Your pack is the heart. The alphas who fuck up are the ones who start to think they’re the most important element of a pack.
—Lucas Hunter, alpha of DarkRiver, to Remington “Remi” Denier, alpha of RainFire
“I’LL BITE YOU if you keep ignoring me.” A threat made in a sharp tone of voice that cut through the sudden vision that had hit Ivan—of moving through a crowd wrapped in a cloak of aloneness.
Shaking it off, he said, “Unless you’re hiding something, you don’t have the skills to bypass trained DarkRiver soldiers.”
“Hmph.” She held on to the end of her braid.
Lifting his hand toward her, he said, “Here. On my wrist.” He’d slipped a black elastic band over it this morning … for no reason. He’d just done it.
A cat prowled in his mind, an edge of smugness to it.
And Soleil’s fingers touched him again as she rolled the band gently off over his hand. He knew at that moment that he’d never again be without a band for her hair. Even in his cage, he’d wear one, and he’d dream of the day he could offer it to her again.
Foolish, stupid dreams.
Didn’t matter. They were his.
Another unexpected image in his mind, of a small cat creeping through the grass toward him, a cat with markings similar to Soleil’s but its body much smaller. Then it was bunching that tiny body and launching itself at him.
He jolted within, but only so he could catch the cub. But they were gone, mist through his hands. And he knew right then. She was looking for a child. “I’ll get you in. But we’ll have a very short window of time to get in and out—if you intend to do violence, however, we won’t make it out alive.”
DarkRiver soldiers were some of the most highly skilled he’d ever seen; not only did they have the advantage of natural feline skills, it was obvious they’d trained those skills to a knife-sharp edge. They had to have been ruthlessly strong in the first place to hold their territory against the SnowDancer wolves—and now that the two packs were allied, it was highly probable that leopard and wolf trained together.
Underestimating them would be a serious—and probably fatal—mistake.
Even his cousin’s brash alpha bear mate, Valentin, had been known to slam down a tankard of beer and say, “Lucas’s cats are lethal. No one sees them coming when they don’t want to be seen.” A grin that creased his cheeks as he shot his mate a private look. “Good thing I know how to get along with sneaky cats.”
The only reason Ivan knew he could get Soleil through to the Ryder home tonight was that—if the schedule held to what he’d previously observed—the soldier on patrol duty near their entry point would be a junior in training. As to why he’d observed the security protocols—because all information was power.
The choice of guard was likely because Nathan Ryder was at home during those days and well able to protect his mate and cubs. A good opportunity to give a younger member of the pack live training. Any mistakes wouldn’t be terminal.
“If you’re thinking about entering their home, forget it.” He had to set the right expectations or she’d hurt herself through lack of knowledge. “Nathan is deadly, and while I can hold my own against him, it’ll leave me with no ability to protect you. And Tamsyn can take you out.”
He felt more than saw her head snap toward him, her scowl black. “I’m not a weakling.”
He thought of her broken body in the snow, and of the courage it must’ve taken to go out there in the midst of such brutal carnage. “I know. But DarkRiver trains all its people—even submissives and healers. She’s also a mother with cubs to protect. She’ll rip off your head before you see her coming.”
Ivan had needed no one to tell him that the maternal drive to protect would eclipse even the healer tendency toward gentleness. Not every mother was protective—he knew that all too well—and, from what he’d observed, Tamsyn Ryder allowed her boys a lot of freedom. But she also always put herself on the street side when they walked on the sidewalk, and even at her most relaxed, it was clear that she knew where her children—and any other cubs in her care—were at all times.
She reminded Ivan strongly of Ena. No harsh orders, no screaming or yelling, no rules so tough they stifled growth. But all the cubs listened when Tamsyn told them to do something. And they looked at her with the absolute and pure trust of children who knew she was the adult; they didn’t have to worry—because she’d handle anything that came at them.